Peterborough-I don't get it (Manchester, Nashua: homes, theater, schools)

[quickdraw]

Hi. I live in Vermont. I never even heard of Peterborough until this evening. I was reading Yankee magazine and noticed a couple of nice bed and breakfasts in this town at really low rates. So I looked into the town a bit and it seems pretty charming with character. So I went to realtor.com and saw a lot of nice homes at very low prices. I figured this town must be in the middle of nowhere so I went to mapquest and found it's not terribly far from metro Boston.

So what the heck is going on? This seems a little too good to be true. I'm starting to wonder why I'm in Vermont slowly going broke.

[~Boo~]

You must visit Peterborough! I think it's a great little town. It's too rural for me personally, and still too far from Boston. It has an artsy feel to it. There's a great diner though & the Toadstool bookshop is great! Not only good books to find, but yummy hot chocolate & delicious apple pie too, lol. You're close enough for a road trip ~ go check it out!!

[JCPTNH08]

It depends on what you are looking for. I've lived and worked in Peterborough for years, but have just moved to California. Peterborough is a nice little town but I wouldn't say it's particularly close to Boston. In fact, it doesn't really feel like it's close to anywhere. Peterborough has some small specialty shops for clothing, gifts and food, several pretty good restaurants and a few other conveniences, including a one screen theater. However, I constantly found myself needing things not available in Peterborough, and therefore traveling between 1/2 to 1 hour in the car to get anywhere. For me, the charm wore off. If you're someone who likes quaint little towns and don't desire much beyond your local merchants, it's a nice place.

The only other issue I find with Peterborough is the lack of jobs there or within a decent commute. Years ago there were plenty of big businesses - Brookstone was headquartered there and NEBS and Millard were big employers, but Brookstone and NEBS have left town and Millard is a shell of what it once was. Commuting out of Peterborough toward Nashua or Manchester is a haul, especially in the winter when you have to go over Temple Mountain. The drive to Keene, though only 35-45 minutes long, is a slow one - especially in the winter.

BTW - I own one of those low priced homes you saw on Realtor.com if you're interested

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

Hi. I live in Vermont. I never even heard of Peterborough until this evening. I was reading Yankee magazine and noticed a couple of nice bed and breakfasts in this town at really low rates. So I looked into the town a bit and it seems pretty charming with character. So I went to realtor.com and saw a lot of nice homes at very low prices. I figured this town must be in the middle of nowhere so I went to mapquest and found it's not terribly far from metro Boston.

So what the heck is going on? This seems a little too good to be true. I'm starting to wonder why I'm in Vermont slowly going broke.

The thing with southwest NH is that it looks close to Boston......but there are no direct roads that give you easy access to Boston. There is no interstate highway in that area of NH hence why SW NH is stil very rural. It's a beautiful area of NH, but it's very difficult to get around, or to get just about anywhere. I'm kind of happy that area of NH has been left alone......from Salem to Manchester looks just like any other place in the USA.

[scone]

I was over there earlier this summer,and it is wonderful, wonderful. However, it's a long way from Manchester and Nashua, in terms of time, because you aren't going too fast on those country roads. It might make a great place to retire, however. And I did see a lot of boomers about that age.

[GregW]

Peterboro is the capital of the Monadnock Region that is heavily populated by annuity hippies that are just fine with their small town. I would like living there if I could afford it.

[Rexicana]

We love it here and are not retired, but my husband telecommutes 3x a week. I think the main drawback here is the lack of transportation to Boston or NY, but it is also a good thing about the area. It takes us 1.5 hrs to get to Boston and 1 hr to Manchester Airport.

[NH2008]

Was going to say what Brave Stranger said but he got there first! 65 miles sounds closer to Boston than it is because it's not right off a highway. It's a bit isolated and certainly not commuting distance from Boston. There isn't a train. It isn't near any notable colleges or schools. So, prices are lower than they would be otherwise. That said, it's famous (from Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN), it's lovely and less developed than it would be if it were more convenient to Boston, it's got a lot of artsy/cultural stuff because of the McDowell Colony, which brings major art & literary talent through town, and it's a very nice place.

[notdancingqueen]

It's on our list of NH places to visit but when we we looking for places to live we cut it off our list quickly because of its obvious lack of major roads which isolates it too much from Boston (where I work half the week; I telecommute the other half.)

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by notdancingqueen

It's on our list of NH places to visit but when we we looking for places to live we cut it off our list quickly because of its obvious lack of major roads which isolates it too much from Boston (where I work half the week; I telecommute the other half.)

Yup.....it can't be stated enough how difficult the road system is to navigate in that area. It's ok in the good weather, in the winter, well, forget it.